


Seon-Injang: Another Name for a Cactus

by ColourAndCity



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Eden (Korea Musician), K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Enemies, Enemies to Still Enemies, Hate Crimes, M/M, The cactus is a metaphor, conflicting cat energy, murder isn't the answer but blackmail is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2020-02-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:29:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21792379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ColourAndCity/pseuds/ColourAndCity
Summary: Things have become prickly to say the least after Eden joins Seonghwa's coven... especially for San.
Comments: 24
Kudos: 182
Collections: Collection - Another Name for the Devil





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ScarlettSiren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettSiren/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Another Name for the Devil](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17713091) by [ScarlettSiren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScarlettSiren/pseuds/ScarlettSiren). 

Four of the vampires were lounging in the study, enjoying a peaceful night in. Yeosang and Wooyoung were coupled together in one corner of the room and San lay sprawled across the lounge with his head on Seonghwa's lap as Seonghwa read from a dusty old book as if San wasn't even present beneath his arms. San had always been extremely perceptive of the others so before Seonghwa even spoke, he knew something was up simply from the movement of his eyes on the page of his book.

“There is something that I just remembered I need to attend to.” Seonghwa said calmly as he carefully slid San's head off his lap and slowly got to his feet. “I shall return momentarily.”

San slowly sat up to watch Seonghwa leave the room. Wooyoung and Yeosang didn't move a muscle, Wooyoung engrossed in a book while Yeosang lazily twirled his hair between his fingers, simply regarding him.

After Seonghwa had left, San just lolled his head back against the furniture, making brief eye contact with Yeosang. “It appears he's back again already.”

“Something must have warranted this rather sudden visit.” Yeosang sighed as he continued to run his hands through Wooyoung's hair.

“Seonghwa's mystery guest that we are 'not supposed to know about' again?” Wooyoung mumbled.

“It appears so.” Yeosang replied.

“Annoying.” San huffed as he flopped back down on the lounge dramatically.

\--

Much like in his human and early vampire years as a healer, Seonghwa had always had a soft spot for gardening. While in his past life he cultivated many medicinal herbs and flowers, due to his more restrictive, nocturnal lifestyle and the lack of real sunlight within the mansion, he had turned to caring for a small collection of cacti and succulents instead. He often supplemented them with UV lamps to ensure they remained healthy. Once or twice a week he would carefully tend to his little garden despite how ridiculous the others made it seem.

“I don't understand why you're so hung up on those things.” San would quip at Seonghwa. “They're just going to die anyways being stuck in the darkness.”

More than once, San had pricked a finger on one of the larger cacti which always lead to a stern scolding from Seonghwa to please be more careful.

In reality, small garden gave Seonghwa a safe space from his own thoughts after Hongjoong was turned. They served as a reminder of the fragility of life, which he would admit he would sometimes forget to put into perspective as he had been living as a vampire for so long. They also reminded him of how he needed to be vigilant over those he loved to ensure their safe growth. He may have even become slightly obsessive over their care from time to time but it would give him something to keep his mind occupied.

Even after Eden was turned, Seonghwa could often be found rearranging and re-potting the plants or adjusting the UV lamps so that they would receive the optimal light. His small garden that once held half a dozen plants had now transformed the small veranda in the back of the mansion into a tiny cactus and succulent green house that he had become very protective over. He would not even let any of the familiars touch his precious plants.

It was as if the cacti themselves had become a representation or even an extension of the coven in his mind.

\--

In the days after Eden was turned by Seonghwa's hand, the coven members quickly learned one by one of their new coven member, some in more straight forward ways than others. Seonghwa had meant to sit everyone down and tell them about Eden beforehand but desperate circumstances let to desperate measures and it happened a lot faster than originally expected.

San was the last to find out.

“Surprised to see you back here again.” San said, barely paying attention to Eden as he passed him in the hall. “Here to get more of Seonghwa's blood?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.” Eden replied dryly. “But I won't be needing it anymore.”

San gave a bit of a huff as he passed by but immediately stopped in his tracks and whipped his head around, picking up on all the subtle differences about Eden.

“You were turned.” San said in an unintentionally cold tone.

Eden just shrugged at the remark.

“How long? Was it Seonghwa? Are you living here now?” San fired off questions in rapid succession.

“3 days. Yes. Unsure but Seonghwa insists I stay at least until I get things under control.”

“I can't believe we now have another hunter among us.” San said half to himself. 

“Listen, Hongjoong has already been giving me enough shit these past few days so don't try anything stupid.” Eden said with a hint of annoyance.

“This will be fun.” San cracked a devilish grin and approached Eden, orbiting him slowly while looking him completely up and down. 

San, fixating on the bared flesh around Eden's clavicle, reached out and went to run his hand down the side of Eden's neck. As soon as he made contact, Eden had taken a deathly tight grasp on San's wrist, twisting it violently at a severe and painful angle behind his back and aggressively shoving San up against the wall. Eden was strong. Eden was unnaturally strong, especially for being such a young vampire. San gave a gasp half in pain, half in utter surprise as Eden proceeded to level his free arm against San's throat.

“Let's set some boundaries. Right now. Touch me again and I will break every single one of your fingers.” Eden said coldly, pressing harder against San's throat. “Understand?”

San croaked out a noise of confirmation and Eden was quick to let him go. San tumbled to the floor, rubbing his wrist and throat simultaneously as the bruise marks quickly faded, glaring angrily up at Eden. Without another word he got to his feet and disappeared into a nearby room, never once breaking his angry glare.

\--

Seonghwa had sat the entire coven down to discuss the situation with Eden. Everyone was happily chatting with each other but San was on guard, sitting alone far from the others. He was crouched on a small chair in the corner of the room with his legs drawn up against his chest, cautiously peering out over his knees at the others around him.

“As many of you know, Eden has been a familiar of mine for some time...”

“I am fairly certain everyone has known for quite some time.” Yeosang said with a bit of a laugh while shooting a wink over at Eden. Eden just grimaced.

“Well, as subtle as I tried to be you are all much more perceptive than I give you credit for.” Seonghwa said with a bit of a sigh. “But that is beside the point. As you can clearly see, Eden accepted being turned to help further his hunting abilities. He will now be a part of this coven and I expect you all to treat him with the same respect as you would treat each other.”

“So... will he be living here as well?” Jongho asked quietly.

“From time to time.” Eden replied.

“He will only be staying here as needed.” Seonghwa continued. “He has insisted on staying with the Bureau as a hunter and will be absent on hunts a majority of the time.”

“Plus someone needs to keep Hongjoong on the straight and narrow and get him back in the field.” Eden said, shooting a glance at Hongjoong sitting across from him.

Hongjoong let out a disgruntled groan and over-exaggeratedly rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah just give me some time and I'll be back out there doubling your numbers in no time.”

“Unlikely.” Eden scoffed.

Soon after, Seonghwa ended their gathering and the others slowly filed out of the room. San stayed behind. Yunho, noticing him still balled up on the chair approached him with his million watt smile.

“Hey, aren't you coming?” Yunho said, giving a playful nudge to San's shoulder.

“I don't like him.” San grumbled.

“What?” Yunho jerked his head back a bit in surprise. “Eden?”

“Yeah.” San replied while hugging his legs tighter to his chest.

“I mean he can be a little... uh, how do I put it? Scary? I guess?” Yunho explained. “I've worked with him for years though, he's a good guy. Just. Tough?"

“I don't like him.” San angrily whined. “He's so... so cold and abrasive. So prickly. He's like the human embodiment of a cactus. Like one of Seonghwa's seon-injang.” San continued while picking up a small stray cactus that had been sitting on an adjacent side table. He looked over the tiny prickly plant in his hands. “Yeah. That's what I'll call him. Seon-injang.”

\--

Eden had holed himself up in the study, pouring over a variety of books that were spread out across the floor. San had made the mistake of accidentally wandering into the study where Eden was.

“Fuck off.” Eden grumbled, sensing him but not even looking at San.

“Yep. Okay.” San immediately did a 180 degree turn and exited the room.

He dejectedly headed to find Yunho while grumbling about how he couldn't even use the rooms in his own home despite having lived there longer than Eden had even been alive.

\--

It had become a common occurrence for San to seek out Yunho every time he had an unpleasant run-in with Eden. Which had become quite frequently and every time was unpleasant.

On this particular night San had barged into Yunho's room and dramatically flopped across his bed.

“Everything okay?” Yunho asked while giving San's back a light rub.

“Seonghwa always tending to his precious seon-injang despite the inherent dangers. Always so needy, so thirsty, and with such a bad attitude to match...” San whined.

“I have a feeling you're no longer just talking about a cactus.” Yunho replied dejectedly while furrowing his brow.

“Huh?” San said, half lost in his own thoughts, while turning to face Yunho.

“You've been acting weird ever since Eden was turned.” Yunho sad. “This is about him isn't it.”

“No!” San replied in disgust. “I mean, maybe, but it's not like he's in my head or anything. I'm fine. I've just been, uh, tired. Yeah. It's fine.”

“So this isn't about Eden at all?” Yunho asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice. 

San just aggressively shook his head and sat there in silence. Yunho took this opportunity to slide closer to San on the bed and slowly started planting light kisses along San's neck.

“I mean he's just so—”

Yunho immediately pulled back, rolling his eyes. He flopped back onto the bed with a long sigh knowing that once San was fixated on something that there would be no end in hearing about it.

\--

Eden had returned to the mansion after a short mission. He was still adjusting to life as a vampire and while he was able to physically recover much faster, he would find himself going into sensory overload all too frequently and would need to take time off in between to get used to everything being so intense all the time.

On one of these recovery days he was wandering the halls of the mansion when he saw Mingi approach.

“Mingi! It's time for me to kick your ass in Smash!” He heard San call in a sing-song voice from another part of the mansion. 

Eden could sense San was approaching from behind him and he quickened his pace towards Mingi.

“Hey, Mingi can I ask a quick favor of you?” He asked calmly.

“Yeah sure, anything.” Mingi replied.

With that Eden roughly grabbed Mingi by the shirt collar and pushed him back against the wall of the hall. Mingi was completely thrown off guard when Eden made no hesitation in passionately kissing him just as San rounded the corner.

As soon as San laid eyes upon them he froze in his tracks, mouth hanging agape while letting out a half stifled squeak-like noise in shock. Mingi was too preoccupied by Eden to even notice San there and let out a groan as Eden slid a cold hand up the front of his shirt.

San could not fully process what he was witnessing but quickly turned to leave, eyes burning with anger.

“Yunho!” San called, his voice half caught in his throat as he disappeared back around the corner in search of his familiar.

As soon as San had disappeared, Eden broke away from Mingi and crudely wiped his lips on his shirtsleeve.

“Wow, I did not like that one bit.” He said coldly as Mingi just stood there heavily blinking, wondering what exactly had just happened.

“Thanks for that,” He said with a smile while giving Mingi a pat on the shoulder and continuing down the hallway.

“What the fuuuuuuck.” Mingi whispered to himself as he wiped his lower lip on the back of his hand and tried to calm down from being so momentarily flustered.

\--

Jongho was busy working on collecting intel on a recent case he had been looking into and was deep into the forums looking for any crumbs. His phone dutifully sat beside the computer with a timer quickly ticking down and the name 'Yunho' saved to it. As the others in the mansion had decided to have a rather raucous night, he was wearing his noise-cancelling headphones so that he could at least try to get some work done. 

And that was partially the reason why he didn't notice San sneak up behind him.

“Jongho!” San called from the door of his room, having knocked with no answer. “Hey! Jongho!”

San gave a huff and waltzed into the room and up behind Jongho. He loomed over him but Jongho was so focused on his work that he didn't even notice his presence. 

Cracking a sly grin and in a swift movement San had snapped Jongho's headphones over his ears causing Jongho to jump nearly a foot in the air. But in an unexpected reflex, Jongho immediately pulled a knife out of god knows where and had it brandished straight at San's throat.

“Woah, woah, woah.” San blurted out, quickly raising his hands and taking a few steps back. “Careful with that thing.”

“Dammit San!” Jongho cursed while lowering the knife and placing it back wherever it was hidden previously. “How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that?!” Jongho sighed as he flopped back down on this computer chair and pulled the headphones down around his neck.

“Sorry.” San replied as he flopped down on Jongho's bed and starfished his limbs across the sheets.

“What are you doing here anyways?” Jongho asked. “Normally you're all about these sorts of nights.” Jongho said making vague motions in the air with his hands.

San let out a long sigh. “Got kicked out of my own room by the others. It's that damn seon-injang. Ruining all my fun.” He lamented.

“You tried to fuck a cactus?” Jongho asked mildly concerned.

“What?! No!” San yelled, sitting back up on the bed. “It's Eden. That damned hunter.”

“What about him?”

“He's just so... so... UGH!” San flopped back on the bed again. “Seonghwa and Hongjoong pay him so much attention and he reciprocates their affections but whenever I even step into the same room it's always 'fuck off San!'” 

“So you're jealous of the attention they're giving him and not you?”

“No! It's just... I can't have any fun with him around because he's always so cold and mean. I try to be nice to him but he literally will not even let me try.”

“Maybe he's just not into you...”

“But EVERYONE loves me!” San whined. “What's not to love about me?!”

“Well you don't exactly listen half the time, you can be really touchy... and a little too clingy. Maybe he doesn't like that.”

San wasn't even paying attention to Jongho at this point as his mind was only focusing on his petty hatred toward Eden. And how he couldn't even go complain to Yunho because as far as he knew, Yunho was currently getting fucked by the enemy (he wasn't, but the possibility was still in San's mind).

“And I mean, you can't argue that I don't give the best head out of anyone in this house!” San continued.

“I wouldn't know...”

“Right.” San said with another long sigh. “What's wrong with me Jongho?”

“Do you want the short list or...?”

“Ugh never mind. You're the worst.” San said with an eye roll while getting up to leave.

“Nice talking to you as well.” Jongho said sarcastically as he turned back to his computer, giving his phone timer a quick check and putting back on his headphones.

\--

Seonghwa, Yeosang and Wooyoung casually joined Yunho as he ate his breakfast, despite it being close to 7pm and they themselves not needing to eat. The vampires made idle chat as Yunho ate but soon the topic turned to the current household dynamic.

“Yunho, you're around San the most often...” Wooyoung started cautiously. “Have you noticed anything different about him recently?”

“Oh you mean how he completely shuts down whenever Eden is around?” Yunho replied with a mouth full of cereal. “Yeah, I noticed. He won't stop complaining about it.”

“I don't really get what is upsetting him so much. I mean, Hongjoong is a hunter too, one who literally tried to kill me and yet I'm fine with him being here. But Eden? Why the sudden change?”

“I believe it may be based on a clash of personalities—” Seonghwa started to say.

“Conflicting cat energy.” Yunho interjected, completely cutting Seonghwa off.

“What?” Yeosang scoffed, giving Yunho a look as if he had completely lost his mind.

“They have conflicting cat energy.” Yunho repeated. “They're both creatures of habit but San is the type of domestic house cat that needs constant cuddling, doting and affection. Eden is more like a feral barn cat that will claw you if you get too close to him.”

“I—” Yeosang was squinting at Yunho, mouth slightly agape.

“That is a very interesting way to put it, Yunho.” Seonghwa said with a bit of a laugh. “But I have to admit you're right. San is very touch-driven whereas Eden prefers solitude.”

“He really seems to enjoy touch from certain people though.” Yeosang shot Seonghwa a searing glance.

“Please. We have known each other for decades.” Seonghwa replied, brushing off his comment. “Trust is not built overnight. Now if you will excuse me, I have some matters to attend to.”

Seonghwa got up from the table only for Mingi to lazily shuffle into the room and take his spot, flopping down on one of the kitchen chairs and sprawling across the table.

“You guys notice San's been talking a lot about cacti lately? When did he become so involved with gardening? Isn't that more Seonghwa's thing?” Mingi mumbled.

Yunho nearly choked on the cereal he was eating.

“Sometimes your mind astounds me, Mingi.” Yeosang said with a laugh. “Seon-injang is the name San gave Eden. You know, to replace his previous name... what was it again?”

“Scary mean hunter man,” Wooyoung interjected.

“Ah yes, that.” Yeosang confirmed with a nod.

“Oh.” Mingi muttered, his expression going completely blank. “That would explain why he got so angry after I bought him a cactus keyring yesterday. I honestly just thought he was really into cacti!”

Mingi sat lost in contemplation for a moment before opening his mouth again. “I think... I'm pretty sure he hate-fucked me last night...”

Yunho had one hand aggressively clasped over his mouth in a near futile attempt to prevent himself from laughing and spraying cereal bits everywhere.

“Yunho, you okay?” Mingi asked obliviously.

Yunho just aggressively nodded, his face bright red and tears welling in his eyes from trying so hard to suppress the laughter. He excused himself from the table and quickly retreated to his forge to finally get some work done.

\--

San went from room to room looking for anyone who would be willing to go to the club with him. Mingi had gone with Yunho and Jongho out of town on some research… mission... thing that San couldn't be bothered to remember the details of so he was left to try and convince any of the others.

His first victim was Yeosang who almost immediately shot him down after bringing up the incident from last time with Wooyoung.

Next he headed to Hongjoong's room and begrudgingly asked him if he would like to join him. He also almost immediately shot him down after also bringing up the incident from last time with Wooyoung as that incident had particularly less-than-pleasant memories attached to it for him as well.

San bypassed Eden's room completely and headed straight to Seonghwa's. He hesitated slightly before knocking on the door. He could hear sounds from inside the room. The sound of Seonghwa talking. The sound of more than one person talking. San's blood boiled and he cursed "seon-injang" under his breath as he turned and sulked down the hall to the last room without even an attempt.

He had been reluctant in asking Wooyoung as he knew the memories from the last time they went to the club would be particularly troublesome for him. Unlike the others, Wooyoung happily greeted San.

"I already know why you're here." Wooyoung said with a smile. "And I'd love to go to the club with you…"

San's face lit up at the words.

"But Yeosang informed me of your plans already and warned against me going… because of, you know, last time."

"Yeosang, that gossipy bitch." San cursed.

"Wooyoung. You know I would die for you." San said, getting down on his knees and literally begging at his feet. "Please."

"I'm sorry, I really don't want to risk it…"

San let out a long sigh, hanging his head low as he got back to his feet. He turned and went to leave but Wooyoung placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.

He turned around to see Wooyoung rolling up once of his shirt sleeves above his elbow..

"Here," he said nudging his arm towards San. "You can at least have a hit to ease your mind a bit."

"You're a keeper, Wooyoung." San said with a sly smile while gently taking hold of Wooyoung's arm and bringing his wrist up to his lips.

Wooyoung gave a small groan as San sunk his fangs into his wrist. San was quick to lap up the blood and only took as much as he felt was necessary to get a mild buzz before pulling away. The marks on Wooyoung's wrist healed almost instantly and San gave him a wink as he wiped the blood from his lips.

San now felt better than ever.

With Wooyoung's potent blood flowing through him, San decided the best course of action to get himself out of his funk was to just go to the club by himself, be a little reckless for the night. Nobody had to know. He promised himself he wouldn't be too reckless. Just enough to get the blood flowing again and take his mind off things.

Luckily for San, one of Yeosang's familiars had been visiting the mansion so he was able to catch a ride with him into the city and figured he would just take public transit back home afterwards. No problem.

Within 20 minutes of arriving at the club, San had already downed 4 blood shots, made out with 2 strangers and had immediately broken his promise to himself. He quickly lost track of the time and before he realized how late it really was, the trains in the city had already stopped running.

San cursed the public transit system, looking at his phone and seeing he was down to the last 12% of battery life and begrudgingly shrugged on his oversized leather jacket and headed out into the cold night air to find the closest bus that would take him back to Seongnam. It was getting really late, or perhaps really early and he knew he would be cutting it close getting back before sunrise. He calculated he'd have a solid hour to spare before sunrise to get from the bus stop to the mansion so he figured there shouldn't be much of an issue.

After boarding the bus, he took a seat and leaned his head against the cool glass of the window and nodded off as it would be a long ride to get where he needed to be. However his slumber was all too soon rudely interrupted.

"Hey!" An angry man's voice yelled. "Hey vamp!"

San groggily opened his eyes and looked around him, noticing a belligerent looking man looming over him, screaming only inches from his face. His reactions being dulled after coming down from all the fledgling blood he had consumed that night, it took San longer than usual to process what was going on.

"Hey vamp! What the fuck do you think you are doing?!" The man continued to yell at him.

"Sleeping?" San replied in a tired, annoyed tone.

The man roughly grabbed onto a tuft of San's hair, pulling his head back and aggressively slamming it into the glass, causing a hairline fracture to spider across the window in the process.

"Owww. What the fuuuck." San grumbled angrily, grabbing hold of the man's arm and wrenching himself free from his grip.

San was now much more awake. He took a better survey of the bus he was on and noticed it wasn't just one angry man, but a gang of his friends too who had crowded around him. The other passengers, as few of them as there were, were all just turning a blind eye to what was happening. He could overhear mutters of “monster” between a few of them though and his heart sank.

"Get the fuck off our bus you filthy corpse!" One of the other men yelled, grabbing onto San's arm and giving it a rough tug, attempting to pull him out of his seat.

"Fuck no." San said as he yanked his arm back, angrily crossing his arms in front of him. "I paid my fare, I have just as much of a right to be here as you do. And didn't your parents ever tell you to respect your elders? Now fuck off and let me sleep."

San went to rest his head against the window again but before he could even close his eyes he felt the bus lurch and pull over to the side of the road.

"To the vampire at the back of the bus, uh, sir, I would ask you kindly to please exit the bus as you are causing a disturbance and making the other passengers uncomfortable." The driver announced over the PA system.

San lazily opened his eyes again. Everyone on the bus had turned around and was looking at him.

"This is bullshit." San cursed but begrudgingly complied.

As he got out of his seat and headed towards the back door of the bus, the gang of men roughly shoved him as he went. He hastily opened the doors, breaking the handle in the process and hopped off onto the sidewalk.

He didn't know where he was, Seocho maybe? Or where he should go but he hunched his shoulders, put his hands in his coat pockets and just started walking.

It wasn't long before he realized he wasn't alone and that the gang of men from the bus were following him. He could sense 6, no 7 of them; 3 following from the left and 4 from the right. He knew his senses were dulled as he was still essentially drunk and he would be no match for that many of them. He cursed under his breath and started walking faster in an attempt to lose them.

He abruptly turned down an alley to his right trying to throw them off only to realize it was a dead end.

"Shit." He cursed as he heard the men enter the mouth of the alley.

He had nowhere to escape. All he could do was put up a fight. Seonghwa was going to be so pissed at him. Bracing himself, he unzipped his leather jacket and prepared for the fight.

San was able to keep his ground for some time, even taking out 2 of their members but the gang eventually overpowered him, beating him to a pulp. To add insult to injury, while knocked out they chained his wrists to an exposed water main in the alleyway.

\--

San awoke some time later, his body slowly healing itself but his head still pounding, a combination of pain from the beating and hangover from the excessive blood consumption. He looked at his situation and launched a slew of expletives. The real gravity of the situation sunk in when San realized how light his surroundings were becoming.

The sun was starting to rise.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck…" San cursed as he tugged at the chains around his wrists but not even his heightened vampire strength could get them or the pipe to budge.

He struggled to his feet and put his full weight into to trying to pull himself free. After several minutes he was able to break a smaller pipe and free his right hand but his left was still trapped in place. Reaching into his back pocket for his phone, he saw that the screen was shattered and it turned on just long enough to flash low battery before it died.

"FUCK!" San cried while angrily smashing his dead phone against the pavement, causing it to shatter into a dozen pieces.

The sun was rising quickly and while the alley provided some shelter from the rays, it would not be effective for long.

The shadows on the ground were becoming more and more defined around him and his safety was quickly shrinking. He shuffled as far away from the sunlight as he could but it consistently inched closer and closer.

In one last act of desperation, San knew what had to be done. He took a deep breath and made one last attempt to free himself. He gave a scream in pain as the bones in his wrist and hand shattered but he was able to pull his hand free and clambered as far back into the darkness of the alley as he could, cradling his broken wrist in his other hand.

Even though San had bought himself some more time, he had nowhere else to run. Nowhere to seek shelter. He was already resigning himself to dying in that alleyway and angrily leaned his head back against the stone wall of the building behind him.

San was snapped back to his senses when he heard the squealing of tires at the entrance of the alleyway. It was the familiar sedan, Seonghwa's. The passenger side door swung open and there sat Eden in the driver's seat.

"Cover your head with your jacket and get in! Quick!' Eden yelled as he beckoned at San from inside the car.

San did not need to be told twice. He quickly covered as much of his body as he could with his jacket, scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash to the open door. The sunlight seared and the pain was nearly unbearable but before he knew it San was safely inside the car, slamming the door closed behind him.

He just sat there for a moment, breathing heavily to calm himself down as the patches of skin that had received second degree burns slowly struggled to heal themselves. 

Eden was quick to start driving towards the mansion.

"Thank you." San said breathily as he slowly righted himself in the seat. "I honestly thought I was done for back there…"

"You're an idiot." Eden said coldly.

Eden reached down and pressed the call button on the main console of the car. The phone started to dial and Hongjoong's voice answered almost immediately.

"Tell Seonghwa I found him. He's safe. We are heading back to the mansion now."

"Will do. Glad he's safe." Hongjoong replied before Eden abruptly ended the call.

Eden and San sat in silence for some time as he drove them back. Eden looked over at San's condition and swore under his breath. He immediately pulled over and parked the car. Without any hesitation he rolled up his sleeve and offered his wrist to San.

"What are you doing?" San asked.

"Do you see yourself? You need blood." Eden replied coldly.

"It's fine. Just get me home."

"You have multiple second degree burns that aren't healing and you have what appears to be a broken wrist and hand that have already started to heal wrong. I assume you are in a lot of pain."

"Nothing I can't handle." San said coldly.

"Just take the damn blood." Eden said, slicing his wrist open with his fingernail.

San couldn't resist the sight of the blood and quickly took Eden's wrist. He took a couple deep pulls of his blood. It felt amazing and immediately his pain was lessened by half. San licked his lips and pushed Eden's arm away. The young blood was almost immediately intoxicating again.

"Thank you."

"Now buckle up, we need to get home before Seonghwa throws a fit."

\--

Back at the mansion, San received a long lecture from Seonghwa about keeping track of the sunrise and utilizing one of the condos he owned in the Gangnam area if he couldn't get back in time instead of risking his life on public transit. 

Seonghwa was also forced to reset the bones in San's hand and wrist. As he was gathering the materials he would need to reset the bones, San was left alone with Eden.

"How did you find me anyways?" San grumbled.

"Your phone pinged your location just before shutting off." Eden replied. "But before that Yeosang had informed me and Seonghwa that you had convinced one of his familiars to drive you into the city."

"That gossipy bitch…" San swore.

"Seonghwa got worried when the sun started to rise and you still weren't back. So he, Hongjoong and myself set out to try and find you."

"Ugh… thank you." San said sheepishly.

"I could never let anything bad happen to you, San. Remember that."

Seonghwa walked back into the room carrying a tray of what looked like torture devices.

"This is going to be excruciatingly painful." Seonghwa instructed. "But it will be over quickly and will serve as an important lesson."

San gave a huff and looked away as Seonghwa started the countdown.

\--

Eden sat alone in the study reading and sipping blood from a glass as if it were a fine wine. San took note of the stillness of the room and quietly made his way over to where Eden sat. Every movement was extremely calculated and apprehensive as he was uncertain as to how Eden would react. In a very slow series of movements, San sat down beside him, still keeping his frame completely rigid, Eden acting as if San wasn't even there as he turned the page of his book. San looked him up and down with his eyes and carefully leaned his head on Eden's shoulder. He could immediately feel Eden's body tense up and if San's heart still beat it would have skipped at that very moment. In a strange turn of events San could actually feel Eden's body start to relax. In what must have only been 15 seconds, but what felt like an eternity, Eden finally spoke.

“San...” He said quietly, looking up from his book, eyes fixated on the opposite wall.

San looked up at him with a soft, hopeful expression.

“Fuck off.”

“Yep. Okay.” San blurted out as he immediately jumped to his feet and headed towards the exit.

As San slid the door closed behind him, Eden couldn't help but crack the smallest smile, reaching up to touch where San's head had been just moments before.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There was never supposed to be a second part to this story... but then this scenario just happen to pop into my head so here it is.

The sun had barely set over the treeline when there was a loud knock at the front door of the mansion. Seonghwa cautiously answered the door only to encounter an unfamiliar face. A young human man dressed sharply in business attire stood in the doorway, carrying a large manila envelope in his arms. In the recent months it had become very uncommon for anyone other than the coven's familiars to pay the mansion any sort of visit. To see an unfamiliar human on their doorstep was quite the surprise.

“May I help you?” Seonghwa asked in a neutral tone.

“Yes, I am looking for the Vampire Choi San.” The young man said, avoiding eye contact and shuffling some papers in the thick envelope. “My paperwork indicates that he resides at this address registered under the... Coven of Twilight?”

“That is correct.” Seonghwa replied. “May I ask what this is about?”

“Ah, I'm sorry I cannot divulge that information except with the parties involved.”

Seonghwa raised an eyebrow and gave the young man a look up and down, trying to get any sort of read on who he might be or why he had shown up at the mansion.

“Did I hear my name?” San called from the top of the main stair.

Seonghwa turned back towards the interior to face him. “Yes, this young man here is looking for you over some sort of confidential matter?”

San quickly trotted down the stairs and joined Seonghwa at the front door.

“You lookin' for me?” San asked with a bit of a dissatisfied pout as he looked the young man over.

“Are you the Vampire Choi San?” He asked.

“Yeah, that's me.” San replied with a bit of a huff, crossing his arms.

The young man held out the large manila envelope towards San. San looked down at the envelope and then back at the man, hesitantly taking it from him. He cautiously peered inside, leafing through a couple of the papers.

“What is this?” San asked.

“You've been served.” The young man said as he immediately turned to leave.

“What?!” San huffed in surprise.

San went to make a move as if to follow after the man, who was already halfway to his vehicle, when Seonghwa placed a firm hand on hus shoulder and quickly guided him back inside, gently closing the front door behind him.

“Care to explain?” Seonghwa said with a stern yet maternal look of disapproval.

“Beats me!” San said with a shrug, looking back at the large envelope of documents. “I have no idea what this is about, I swear!”

Seonghwa gave a bit of a sigh, placing his hands on his hips as he gave his neck a roll as if would help him gather his thoughts.

“You're going to need legal counsel. I will grab Eden and we will meet you in the study in 15 minutes.” Seonghwa instructed just before he strode off, not giving San an inch to protest.

San's entire body had bristled at Eden's name and he gave a bit of a scowl as he reluctantly took the documents to the study. By the time Seonghwa and Eden had joined him several minutes later he had messily spread the mass of documents across an entire table and was still trying to piece together what everything was about.

Seonghwa and Eden entered the room silently together, Seonghwa calmly taking a seat on the settee beside San.

“What kind of trouble are you putting yourself and the rest of the coven in this time?" Eden grumbled as he sat across from San, holding out his hand for San to pass the documents he was holding to him.

“I don't know!” San retorted angrily, tossing the papers at him.

Eden shook his head and gave his eyes a bit of a roll as he started reading through the documents. Meanwhile San and Seonghwa were pouring over some of the other documents that had been in the envelope.

After several more minutes Eden broke the silence.

“What the fuck, San…” He muttered.

“What do you mean what the fuck?!” San retorted.

“This says you are being charged with assault and are being sued for the medical expenses of no less than 4 men?!”

“What?!” San blurted out, his eyes wide in surprise. “Lemme see that!”

San quickly grabbed the paper from Eden's hands and started frantically scanning over what was written on it, Seonghwa reading over his shoulder.

“On the night of the 21 st , Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, Mr. Hong and Mr. Oh allege that after causing a disturbance on a public transport vehicle in Seocho, the Vampire Choi San brutally assaulted the four (4) men, severely injuring two (2) of them. The defendants wish to press charges for assault as well as recoup the medical expenses for all four (4) men.” Seonghwa read aloud.

“What the fuck...” San whispered.

“Looks like I will be needing to write a very hefty cheque to make this go away.” Seonghwa said with a disappointed sigh as he started to mentally tally up the medical expenses in his head plus a suitable amount of hush money so that the media would not get word of the story.

“Seonghwa, I swear I never touched a hair on any of these men.” San said, turning to him with a pleading gaze.

“Wait, Seonghwa, where did you say this took place?” Eden interrupted.

“Seocho, on the 21 st .” Seonghwa replied calmly.

“San, wasn't that the night of—”

“THOSE BASTARDS!” San cut Eden off, angrily rising to his feet and throwing down the documents after finally piecing things together.

“Would either of you care to explain what is going on?” Seonghwa said with an air of impatience.

“Did you not tell him about what happened that night?” Eden hissed at San.

San shook his head, flopping back down on the settee. “I didn't even tell  _ you _ the half of it.”

Seonghwa just looked impatiently between the two of them. San let out a frustrated yell and vigorously ruffled his hair.

“So you remember not too long ago when Eden brought me home with a broken wrist?”

"Yes, I remember quite well." Seonghwa assured with a nod.

“Well, the night before I had been clubbing in Gangnam and it was late and I had to take the bus home. And I know, you already lectured me about that so I don't need to hear anymore about it, but while I was on the bus these seven men surrounded me and woke me up when all I was trying to do was take a nap. They got me kicked off the bus for 'causing a scene' which was bullshit because I was literally just trying to sleep and  _ they _ were the ones yelling at me, calling me a filthy corpse.”

Seonghwa frowned at the slur.

“So once I was off the bus I didn't know what to do and I was mad and still a little drunk so I just started walking. And they followed me. And cornered me in an alley. And proceeded to beat the shit out of me. I mean, I got a few good swings at them as well--in self-defence, of course--but since I was not exactly sober and it was seven against one, they ended up knocking me out and chaining me to a water main and left me there, most likely with the expectancy that the sun would finish me off.”

“San I'm--” Seonghwa started to say, his expression had melted into something much more sympathetic.

“And yeah that's how I broke my hand and wrist, trying to free myself from being burned alive, chained to a pipe in an alleyway. And that's where Eden ended up finding me.”

“And here I thought you just broke your arm out of your own drunken stupidity.” Eden quipped.

“Amazing how these things aren't always as they seem.” San spat back.

“San I'm so sorry all that happened to you. I honestly had no idea.” Seonghwa said, gently taking San's hand in his own. "But why didn't you tell me? How am I supposed to look out for the ones I care so deeply for when I don't even know that this is happening?"

“Yeah well I may live forever but I didn't really feel like being lectured about it for the next decade... and I didn't exactly expect them to come back and try to sue me after discovering they hadn't managed to successfully murder me.”

“San..." Seonghwa looked absolutely devastated by San's words.

"Sorry, sorry I know. I should have said something. For the sake of the coven." San said with a sigh.

"Well they will not be getting a single penny from us, I can assure you that." Seonghwa explained with a hint of anger in his voice. "You should be the one pressing assault charges, not them. They are a threat to vampire society and all we have strived to achieve for even a semblance of equality and they must be dealt with accordingly."

Eden angrily got to his feet and headed straight for the door of the study.

"Mingi!" Eden yelled aimlessly into the hollows of the mansion.

After a brief hesitation, a muffled "What?!" could be heard in reply.

"I'll be right back." Eden said turning back to San and Seonghwa before disappearing from the room.

Within 20 minutes Eden had returned with Mingi in tow, each carrying an armful of laptops and other electronics which they didn't waste any time in setting up in the study.

"Mingi I'm going to need you to find the full legal names of all those involved in these documents and all known associates." Eden instructed as he handed a series of papers to Mingi.

Mingi gave a quick look over the papers. "Got it. Give me like, an hour, max."

"Good." Eden said smugly as he turned to San. "San, I promise I will use all my power within the Bureau to dig up every known infraction these human shit stains have ever made. They will wish they never messed with you."

San sat there wide-eyed in surprise. "Oh, uh, thanks."

"Seonghwa, as you're a licensed medical professional I'm going to need you to draft up an injury report for San. How's your memory of that night?" Eden continued.

"As clear as ever." Seonghwa replied calmly.

"Good because we need to document  _ everything _ ."

"Right." Seonghwa confirmed as he got to his feet. "San, come with me to the infirmary and we will get to work on that."

For the next 3 hours Eden, Seonghwa, Mingi and San worked tirelessly to assemble a countercase for San.

\--

Several days later, San was summoned to court to face his accusers; Eden was representing him as legal counsel and Seonghwa was attending as a medical expert.

Despite all the effort all the members of the coven had put into helping to clear San's name, San was still increasingly more and more nervous as the time slowly ticked towards his hearing. He looked mildly uncomfortable wearing a tailored black suit as it was not his usual fashion style. While he usually had his hair slicked back, Seonghwa had opted he keep his bangs down to give him a more 'youthful and innocent' look, playing off of San's un-aging teenage features.

As he entered the courtroom, San got a good look at four of the seven men for the first time. As memories of that night flooded back into his mind, it took everything inside him to keep himself calm. Eden seemed to pick up on his uneasiness and gave his arm a squeeze.

"Hey, you alright?" Eden whispered.

"Peachy." San responded sarcastically, nervously clenching and unclenching his jaw.

When San was called up for trial there was a bit of a kerfuffle in the courtroom as many of the courtroom staff we're learning of Eden's turning for the first time.

"Ah, Eden, I see you are registered as a Vampire now." The judge said offhandedly.

"That is correct." Eden stated clearly.

"Pity. But I guess as a Bureau member your authority still stands." 

Eden gave a bit of an exasperated exhale and the trial began.

And it went horribly.

Every counterargument that Eden made against the men was immediately discredited or dismissed and Eden was getting more frustrated as time passed. San was also becoming more and more visibly nervous.

“I see here that you once had a prior run-in with law enforcement outside a club in Gangnam?” The judge read.

“I… yeah, that is correct.” San replied in a small voice.

“Care to elaborate?”

Seonghwa shot San a warning glance.

“I was dragged into a small scuffle a few years ago but it was later dropped.” San continued.

“And would you say the incident indicated in this particular hearing also occurred after a night of clubbing in Gangnam?”

“Yes… I was on my way home from Gangnam...”

“And would you say you were or were not intoxicated at the time?”

San let out a heavy sigh, hanging his head low. “Yes, I had been drinking.”

“Heavily?”

“Yes.”

By the end of it all, the only part of the case that was thrown out was the alleged harassment on the bus the men had put in their statements. Mingi had been their saving grace in that respect as he had been able to hack the transit system's server with the help of Eden's Bureau credentials and found surveillance video of the event that clearly showed the men provoking San and San not laying a finger on them before leaving the bus.

The rest of the trial however was thrown in the men's favour. Even with Seonghwa's medical testimony, since they did not have any photographic evidence of San's injuries, the claims that he had been attacked instead were thrown out as he was seen as the more powerful party in a fight.

"This is absolutely ludacris!" Seonghwa exclaimed in the court. "He is a vampire with healing abilities and you expect there to be physical evidence of his injuries?! Any injuries would have been healed in minutes, maybe even seconds. He was given second degree burns from being forced into the sunlight at the hands of these men. He sustained a broken wrist and hand in the process. Do you realize the amount of force required to break the bone of a vampire?!"

"It says here though, the broken bones were self-inflicted." The judge said, eyeing Seonghwa.

"Well, yes, but only because they chained him up and left him to die! These men should be charged with attempted murder instead."

"Is it true you inflicted these injuries upon yourself?" The judge said turning to San.

San gave a worried glance at Seonghwa.

"I… uh, well, I guess so, yes… but… what Seonghwa said was true. They left me to die. If I didn't free myself I--"

"I don't need to hear anymore." The judge said cutting him off. "Case dismissed. The assault charges will be dropped however the defendant will be required to cover the cost of the plaintiffs' medical expenses in the amount of 34 million won."

"You can't be fucking serious." Eden cursed under his breath.

Seonghwa was intensely silent, his fists clenched tightly at his side as if he could lose control at any moment. San had never seen either of them look so angry. San meanwhile was about 30 seconds away from bursting into tears having never felt so invalidated and so wronged in his life.

"Let's go." Seonghwa said in a dark tone. "I will take care of this later."

Seonghwa quickly ushered Eden and San out of the courtroom. The entire drive home was completely silent. As soon as they arrived back at the mansion, Eden grabbed a few items and immediately made to leave.

"Eden!" Seonghwa called after him in an irritated tone. "Where are you going?!"

"Out. I need to go take care of some things. Don't wait up for me." Eden retorted.

"Don't do anything rash…"

"I don't need your coddling, Seonghwa." Eden mumbled before disappearing into the night.

Seonghwa closed his eyes briefly and inhaled deeply to calm himself down before turning back to the mansion to tend to San who was on the verge of a breakdown.

“Where did Eden go?” San asked when he saw that Seonghwa was alone.

“I haven’t the faintest idea.” Seonghwa replied with a sigh. “He probably needed to go blow off some steam.”

“Typical seon-injang.” San muttered under his breath.

\--

Eden didn’t return to the mansion for three nights.

“It has been taken care of.” Eden said darkly, barging into Seonghwa’s bedroom, throwing his bag on the floor at Seonghwa’s feet.

Seonghwa eyed the blood on Eden’s clothes.

“Eden… murder is not how we deal with things...” Seonghwa said quietly in a concerned tone, stripping him of his bloody jacket.

“Oh? This? No. That was just for dramatic effect.” Eden said with a scoff. “Murder might not be the answer, but blackmail sure as hell is.”

\--

One by one the men who were involved in the Seocho incident arrived at a small basement meeting room in a local church-run community center until all seven men had gathered there. They were under the assumption that this late-night meeting was a Bureau follow-up on the case brought up by four of the men but they were all mildly confused as to why they were the only ones currently at the location. A couple rows of chairs had been set up in front of a folding table but otherwise the meeting room was empty.

“The fuck is going on?” One of the men grumbled. “Bureau just keeping us waiting like this?”

Suddenly the lights in the room all shut off and the doors slammed closed, locking in place. One of the men stumbled to the main door and tried to yank it open but it was no use, it wouldn’t budge. The rest of the men had huddled together in a group in the center of the room.

“Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, Mr. Hong, Mr. Oh, Mr. Lim, Mr. Choi and Mr. Yong, please take a seat.” Eden’s voice boomed in the darkness of the small room as the lights quickly flickered on, revealing Eden standing in front of them, leaning against the folding table.

The seven men quickly shuffled over to the chairs and cautiously sat down.

“Now, we have some very important things we need to discuss.” Eden said in an irritated tone as he threw a stack of papers down on the table.

“Wait a minute!” One of the men said standing to his feet. “You’re that Bureau Vamp from the trial!”

“I said take a fucking seat.” Eden said in a growl as he aggressively placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and shoved him back into his seat, moving almost too fast for the human eye to process.

The other men immediately cowered away.

“Now.” Eden said, pacing in front of them, clenching his jaw and simultaneously baring his fangs. “I do not appreciate those who try and attack my coven, my family, and that is exactly what the seven of you seemed to have done. Nearly murdering one of my members in the process. No, I do not take that very lightly indeed.”

The men were nervously sweating in their chairs at Eden’s terrifying appearance.

“And then the four of you had the audacity to try and press assault charges and sue for damages?” Eden glared specifically at the four men who had been present at the trial.

“Now, in your backwards mindset, you probably think I’m going to threaten to rip you limb from limb if any of you ever step foot near any of the members of my coven ever again…”

Eden pulled out a small blood bag out of his pocket, ripping into it with his teeth and gorging himself on it, spilling much down the front of his jacket. Several of the men let out cries in panic, one may or may not have soiled themselves slightly as Eden threw the empty bag to the ground and wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve, turning his fierce eyes on the group of them.

“Honestly I wish that were the case because it would be oh so satisfying ridding the world of such  _ scum _ . But I will not. I have a better alternative.”

Eden grabbed the stack of papers and casually leafed through them.

“Mr. Kim, Mr. Park, Mr. Lim, and Mr. Yong.” Eden began reading off. “It appears that you have been embezzling quite a large amount of funds from a construction company the four of you work for. Would be a pity if the authorities were to be tipped off about this. Mr. Hong, you’re quite the adulterer now, aren’t you? I would hate for these photos to fall into the wrong hands. Mr. Oh and Mr. Choi, now the two of you could be in some real trouble. Recreational drug use? Tisk tisk that could easily land you 5 years in prison.”

The men were even more nervous now.

“What the hell do you want?!” One of the men yelled.

“I want you to retract your claim with the Bureau absolving my coven member of all charges.”

Eden pulled out a lengthy legal document and placed a pen on it while stepping aside. The men quickly clambered from their seats to sign the document without even reading it. After they had all signed it and nervously returned to their seats Eden picked it up and carefully read it over to make sure they had all signed.

“Thank you for this.” Eden said with a smirk. “Good thing you are all too stupid to realize what you signed was an affidavit that you were the ones who instigated the altercation with the Vampire Choi San, also admitting to attempted murder.”

“What?!” Half of the men blurted out, getting to their feet in protest.

“I never forced you to sign that document, you all did so of your own will. And I will gladly submit it to the Bureau this evening. Thank you for your cooperation.” Eden said sarcastically as the lights in the room switched off again and Eden disappeared without a trace.

\--

It was late at night when San mindlessly wandered into the library only to see Eden working there. He immediately went to do a 180 degree turn and leave before Eden saw him to avoid getting the usual prickly “fuck off” response from him.

“San.” Eden called.

San froze in his tracks as a bristle ran through his entire body, slowly turning back around to face Eden.

“Yes…?” San replied in a tiny voice, expecting to be threatened or reprimanded about something, anything, maybe even his mere existence.

“The Bureau has dropped the entire case against you. Including the medical expenses. The men retracted their claims.” Eden said in a distracted, unaffected tone.

“Oh, uh, that’s good news! I’m glad Seonghwa took care of things.” San quipped.

“It was me you fucking idiot.” Eden retorted, looking up at San.

“What?” San looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

“Seonghwa has enough on his plate right now. So I took care of it. I took care of everything. Those men will never bother you again.”

“I… uh, thank you?” San muttered in bewilderment.

“Like I’ve said before, I will not let anyone harm anyone in this coven. You included.”

Eden gave the sofa cushion beside him a light pat as if enticing San to come and sit beside him. If San still had a heartbeat it would have been beating erratically fast at this moment. He cautiously approached and slowly sat down beside him, completely rigid but vibrating with nerves at the same time.

“Lay down here.” Eden said giving his thigh a pat. “Seonghwa said you liked this.”

San rigidly leaned over onto his back, resting the back of his head on Eden’s lap. Eden wasn’t even paying him any direct attention as he was almost completely focused on the work in front of him. He brought one hand up and slowly twisted his fingers through San’s wavy hair in a haphazard manner. San’s eyes were widely staring at the ceiling, full of apprehension. He dared not move an inch. He was not entirely sure of Eden’s motives or if this was some sort of trap and he was about to have his hair ripped from his scalp.

“You really did quite a number on a couple of those men. Only someone with an extensive martial arts knowledge could have left the types of injuries they exhibited. And to think you did all that while drunk.” Eden continued, sorting through his work. “I didn’t realize you were such a skilled fighter. I always thought of you as, well,  _ weak _ .”

San didn’t know how to respond to Eden’s backhanded compliment and gave a bit of an unintentional huff.

“Maybe you could actually prove to be useful to me after all. I guess you aren’t completely useless.” Eden said with a bit of a laugh.

“Ugh fuck off.” San muttered with a roll of his eyes as he turned over onto his side so he was facing away from Eden. However, he cracked the smallest, slyest smirk at the sudden validation. 

In San’s mind, he had finally won against the seon-injang.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Twitter @ ColourAndCity_ or CC @ ColourAndCity.  
Or just yell into the void.


End file.
